Bernard Narokobi's History of Wautogik Village

Chapter 28: Sports and Games

Wautogig boys and girls, as well as men and women, played a number of traditional games, and still do today. Here I describe some of them.

Ubun-Ahuk

This game is named after the ubun and ahuk, two types of parrots with quite pretty feathers. It is a nature game, and here is how it is played. Boys and girls break into teams. The teams carry bilums or baskets with them. They collect samples of plants, trees, and insects and put them in their baskets. They get at least one sample of each item, as many as they can lay their hands on. Each team must remember the name of the sample and, where applicable, what it is used for.

When the referee calls out “stop”, “come out,” and “count,” the teams emerge. One team pulls out a sample and calls out its name. The other team must pull out its sample of the same plant and say what it is used for. The team that matches the plant will pull out a sample of another plant and the first team has to match their sample and tell its function. A team scores points if it produces a sample that the other team cannot match, or if the other team does not know the sample’s use or function. The matching continues until all the collected samples are exhausted.1

Ɲɨmarɨbiu

Ɲɨmarɨbiu is an exciting game played by men and boys.2 The game is played one-on-one or in teams. It can also be played as a competition between villages.

The bottom half of a dry coconut shell is carefully cleaned out, sanded, and wrapped around and around with a long string. The player holds the end of the string between his hand and the coconut. When he releases the coconut shell, he hangs on to the string, and the coconut shell drops to the ground and spins.

There are two ways to play to this game. In the first way, the two players spin their shells at the same time on the public square. The one that keeps spinning the longest is declared the winner. In the second way of playing, two teams declare war on each other. One team will release its coconut tops first. The other team will then release its coconut tops. The shells spin and turn until one team’s shells strike those of their opponents. When this happens, they are declared the conquerors. The game is then reversed: the other side drops its shells, trying to knock the shells of the first team out.

The best players of ɲɨmarɨbiu in Wautogig are Taramap, Benny Meiwar (father of Jonathan and at one time Komiti), and Guaigu. They can keep their coconut tops spinning for a long time and they are good at attacking the enemy tops. The tops are spun on dry, smooth ground. This game is played by old and young. There is no reason why girls and women could not play this game, but I have not seen them playing it.

Mabɨrərɨhib

Some trees have small round berries growing on them. Nice smooth ones are picked and a coconut leaf midrib, about 3-4 inches long, is cut and punched into the centre of the fruit. The piercing stick comes out about a quarter inch outside the berry. The stick with the berry at the end is then held between the player’s two palms. It is twisted and then released onto the ground like a top. The player whose berry top stays spinning the longest is declared the winner. Mabɨrərɨhib is played one-on-one or in teams of two or more players.

Madɨk gɨrac

Madɨk means ‘we shoot’ and gɨrac (singular gɨraɲ) refers to a type of tree. This is a children’s game that involves two teams shooting at small objects. The players cut 6-inch long pieces of taro leaf and place them on sticks on the ground. One player takes up position some distance away with small, sharp spears. The child with spears tries to shoot all the pieces of cut taro leaf. The player who shoots all the small pieces wins. Once the shooter misses, he or she loses, and the other side takes a turn.3

Kʷonani

This is an intricate game played with a string that has its two ends tied together in a big circle. The game is played on the fingers like cat’s cradle. It can be played by a single person (using ten fingers) or two people (using twenty fingers).4 The player manipulates the string, telling a story while creating a pattern with the fingers that demonstrates the events or occurrences in the story. The second person will then continue weaving the next pattern and part of the story until the story is concluded. This game is frequently played by women when it is raining or when there is not much work to do. Men are allowed to play it too, but the girls are best at it.5

Bamboo pop guns

This is clever game played by boys and young men. A small bamboo is cut on both ends. Sometimes a bigger bamboo is attached to the end of a small one. The boys pick small berries for pellets and push them into the end of the bamboo stick. First, one berry is pushed up into the larger bamboo. Then a second berry is pumped up the chamber, with a much smaller tough bamboo stick. When the second berry is pumped against the first berry inside the bamboo, it forces the first berry out with a loud bang. Young boys playing this game are lined up in rows and they fight each other. The berry “bullets” travel 10-20 feet and if they hit the enemy at close range they can cause a nasty sting. I often played this game as a child, but it is discouraged because if one of the berries hits you in the eye it could cause permanent damage.6

Spear throwing

This is a game played by boys and young men. They cut straight, small sticks and sharpen them at one end into spears. As they walk along in the bush they throw their spears at any emerging tree shoot they see along the way. Their target may be a young palm, a banana, a betel nut palm, or any wild hardwood tree. This game has been discouraged because it incites unscrupulous shooting of valuable plants. But it is a good game in that it trains young men to shoot accurately at desired targets.

In recent times, we have begun playing a modified version of this game. Dry coconuts or old banana stumps are picked and set on the ground at the edge of the village. Players line up a marked distance away from the target and take turns aiming and throwing their spears. The ones who hit the target are declared the winners.7

Ihwe

Ihwe is the Arapesh word for crocodile, and the game named after it is a water game. A big child or adult swims under water like a crocodile while younger children swim around in the river. The ihwe tries to capture a child. When a child is grabbed on the leg by the crocodile, the captive tries to escape. The child is released but still counts as one of the ihwe’s victims. The game continues until one child only remains. That child then takes up the role of the ihwe and the game continues.8

Monɨh udət ‘we hide/plant a stick’

This is a water game involving an udət, a small tree branch. Someone picks an udət and buries it in the river. The others then dive down and search for it. If it is found, the finder dives back under and hides it again. The game continues each time the branch is found. If it is not found, the one who hid it will dive in and declare him- or herself the winner. The game is played by both boys and girls.9

Kwilkwil

This is a game played by both boys and girls using a small red seed called kwilkwil. One side gets the seed and walks around the playground shouting kwil-kwil-kwil, but no one on the opposing side knows who holds the seed. When the one who holds the seed drops it and sings out kwinjaruk, the other side gets up and searches for it. If they find it, they take a turn hiding the seed and inviting the others to look for it.10

Barere tipon tipon

Barere tipon tipon, barere tipon tipon, sou sou barere.11 Barere rume rume, ɲuti ei, barere.12 Children sing these words over and over, though no one knows exactly what they mean. As the children sing, they walk in a line dancing until they reach the front of the line. There they do a right turn, twisting at the top with right arm raised. The words are sung in tune as the dancers hold their hands high, turn at the top of the line, and dance back to where they started. This is a nice game for young boys and girls.12 13

Aimba lumbe lumbe

Aimba lumbe lumbe, sia ngole gole.14 15 16 These are the words of a popular chant sung by young boys and girls. Smaller children are picked up and rocked by a pair of older children holding hands together in front of them. The smaller children are thrown to another pair of older children who are also holding hands. They stand above soft grass or sand. As the song is sung to the end, the child is thrown upon the hands of the other pair. This is repeated until the child is dropped on the grass or sand.

Yawicip

Yawicip are small orange balls that grow on trees near riverbanks or in the jungle. These light, inedible fruits are gathered and strung together as decorations for special occasions such as large parties. Boys often pick up the wild fruits and engage in quite vicious fights with them. The boys form opposing groups and throw tyawicip at each other with the aim of hitting the “enemies” on the other side. But doing that successfully takes strategy. The closer you get so you can strike, the more vulnerable you are to being hit yourself. If you throw and miss, or if the other side dodges your throw, you open yourself up to being attacked. So the trick of the game is for the attacker to get as close as he can, stop, throw the ball at the enemy, and then quickly run away. Playing this game is a form of training in warfare.

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There are other activities that young men and women are involved in that have more to do with growing up than playing games. Young men learned to make tapa cloth in my father’s days. Young women still learn to make bilums or string bags and use young sago leaves to make grass skirts. Young men and women learn the skills of hunting, fishing, and gathering from the earliest times. They learn what trees and vines to use to build good houses, and what trees to use to make long-lasting wooden bowls and slit gongs. Young girls learn when to get married and how to be a good wife. Young men learn the skills to be a man and a husband. Men learn a sacred ritual that allows them to shed their contaminated blood so they can acquire new blood for clean and pure living.